The Complex Tour Part I
"The Complex Rock Tour 2003," Oakdale Theatre, 07-13-03.
[note: credit for first four photos goes to bluemangee and his girlfriend, Alice]
After being deprived of Blue Man for nearly a year, I finally got to see them again. And this time in a whole new light... Their rock tour came to the Oakdale theater in Wallingford, CT in the summer. Matt (Hatter, on the board) happens to live in the same town and so, obviously, wanted to go. I jumped on the wagon and went with him (and a dozen other people from his town).
pre-show/anticipation
In the car, I slipped on one of my fan-meet shirts--the one designed after "meeting/argument" by justMe--and fashioned a crepe paper hairband thing... It probably looked kinda, oh, I don't know... obviously homemade, but oh well, I just don't go for the traditional bows or kung-fu headbands. Then we finally arrived at the Oakdale...
When we got into the building, we immediately went to the souvenir stand, where I got a tour book ($10) and the white tank top ($20). Then, not wasting much time, we went to go find our seats. On the way, we found Gee and his girlfriend, Alice, on the end of a row only a few rows behind us. I got all excited and waved (even though he was right there), but had to save the hug for later. We confirmed that we'd hang out later and headed to our seats--Front and center section in the lower orchestra, 2nd row (on the left side). SWEET seats. Amazingly beautiful seats. ;) The guy who sat next to me said he'd seen BMG in NY and really liked it, but didn't seem to be hardcore (in the blue man sense) at all. I was friendly for a bit (oh! go me!) before looking through the tour book... dum dee dum dee dum... By the way, the whole theater was filled with that mist stuff that they use to make the lights show up on stage... it was kind of neat.
the opening acts
Next up--Venus Hum. Now this show was a lot of fun!! Two guys (Kip and Tony) had their computers and keyboards on the left and right, and the female singer (Annette) was in the middle. Tony, on the right, also played guitar (and had a prominent Mac laptop on his station... I'm told Kip also had a laptop, but I couldn't see it from where I was). Tony's motions in the first song, along with his gelled-up hair, reminded me of someone but I can't put a finger on it... Like a mix of Jack Osborne and a happy troll or something. (In a good way though! He was really getting into the music, which is always a good thing.) I really don't know. But with the stage lights on him he looked otherworldly. I couldn't see much of Kip because his keyboard was usually blocking my view of him (since we were pretty much right below him). Annette was the coolest though; she was utterly delightful. She wore a loose red-and-white country dress with a white ribbon tied around the middle, and wore intellectual-looking glasses (which she took off later on due to excessive glare from the glitter on her face or something, hehe). Anyways, it was really funny because the music was all techno and modernish, but Annette was just dancing away, all carefree and even goofylike. It totally made the music for me, since a lot of her moves reminded me of my own (I'm a pretty dorkish dancer). Her voice was great too... at times when she was singing high and powerful, it almost sounded like Paula Cole, but not quite. At one point, Annette mentioned that this was their first time performing in CT (and that it was pretty nice, etc. etc.)... and then went into a song called "Montana," explaining "'cause that's where I'm from!" Heehee. That was my favorite song out of the bunch--it's the one that has the chorus that goes, "You can hear me dancin' on the radio... [something something something] ...big beautiful skyyyyy!" I think you can listen to that one on their site... Anyways, I was highly entertained through the whole set, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would since that's not normally my type of music. Through the whole thing they had some sort of image pattern moving on the bigscreens and behind them, which added an element of artsy-shmartsy (which I love). A few days after I saw their show, I picked up their latest disc... It's really fun music. =)
After the opening acts, we waited around for the main event... Matt ran to get Tracy's EP, and I was GOING to go bug Gee but apparently he left too (hmph! double-hmph!). Sometime after Matt got back, we noticed Peter (from Tracy Bonham's set) hanging out at a staircase somewhat near the stage... Matt tried to go over and get his autograph, but the guard wouldn't let him. Right after that, Puck came over and said hi (to Matt first, who was still in the aisle). He told us to stay right there (close to the stage) after the show, and he'd take us back to see the Blue Men and such. We were psyched of course, and thanked him before he had to run off. We told Gee to wait up, as well as the rest of Matt's followers (who weren't sitting right with us), but couldn't find a couple from Matt's group who were apparently sitting farther back... =( So anyways, the big show was about to begin.
the show: songs/pieces
"Rock Concert Movement #__: The blackout," and the lights went out...
"Above"-- this whole time, the backdrop on stage was a top-down picture of a city (digital/outline style), and now this backdrop was lit up from behind and acted as a palette for the shadows of the blue men (like in the Luxor show)--the city still faintly showed at the top of the screen while, one by one, the blue men appeared. The first on cimbalom, the second on... um, bongos? and the third on tubulum (ohhhhhhh baby). There was some neat lighting effects and the shadows moved around for a while... Then at a certain point in the song, the entire sheet fell down completely, revealing the stage full of instruments, band members, and of course our beloved blue men. I don't remember any other details about this song, probably because I was too psyched to be seeing blue men again. Ah, bliss.
"Rock Concert Movement #__: The fake ending"
"Exhibit 13"-- Upon returning, this was played... the video was shown in the background, minus the explanation about September 11. It was very sobering and the audience was silent. Of course, for one who knows its meaning, it's particularly moving and saddening... I'm not sure what others (who didn't know the meaning) thought of it. Either way, it's a beautiful song with lots of PVC, reminescent of "Club Nowhere" and "Endless Column." It can't really go wrong (except when the confetti cannons went off prematurely, in another show... as I read in Tracy Bonham's journal. Goodness!).
It's time to start. (hahah yay for geeky Blue Man puns!)
I was pretty calm all day, but rather impatient. Around 4-5:00, Matt had a gathering at his house, a sort of fan-meet. Matt, eht etihw thgin, and I were the only boardies there (and BlueZee, who joined the board shortly after seeing the show), but it was a pretty big group. We had food and whatnot, and put in the Audio DVD (ah, the memories)... but the wait was entirely too long. I kept hoping the doorbell ringing would at one point be Gee (aka bluemangee), but no such luck. *sigh* ;) Eventually someone started handing out crepe paper and we were ready to go.
Finally the lights dimmed and Tracy Bonham came out on stage, in pigtails (heehee!). She picked up her violin (decorated with red flames) and played her cover of a Zepplin song ("Black Dog"). I had no idea what the song was but Matt kept me informed... It was pretty interesting, just her and a violin doing a heavyish song. Then her musicians came out, Peter on keyboard and Jon on guitar. They played "Mother, mother" (with Tracy still on violin), which was also on the heavy side except for the lack of drumset. I've heard the song before on one of Matt's CDs and I liked the live version much better. What followed was a bunch of lighter, mostly acoustic songs... including "Eyes," "Naked," "Something Beautiful," and "All Thumbs" (this one was my favorite out of the whole set) and a couple others. At one point Tracy told us about her EP, which she's selling exclusively during this tour, for $7. She's like, "I heard that someone backstage said it was really $9 worth of rock, so.... you're actually saving money!" which was kind of funny. I didn't get it this time around but I'm planning on picking it up at the SPAC in August. ("Eyes," "Black Dog," and "All Thumbs" are all on the EP.) Also, she mentioned, "I'll be performing with the Blue Man Group later on, so you know, stick around." She's a funny gal. ;) heheh. Anyways. Before the last song, Tracy jokingly talked about how she and her bandmates weren't sure how to set themselves off from the other two acts that night (kind of an ironic comment since BMG is so different from anyone!, and Venus Hum is really quite strange, though in a good way), and then decided that they'd be the only group who had a spoons solo in their set. So Peter (keyboardist) played spoons for the last song and had a sweet solo... It just cracked me up, I totally loved it. To wrap it up,overall her set was very impressive. I hadn't been too sure about her beforehand... I loved her voice of course, from hearing it on the Complex CD, but I'd heard a couple tracks on her other CDs and they were a bit too heavy for my tastes. But live, she was excellent. She has great power and intonation, along with a sweet style that sets her apart from other vocalists. I really enjoyed her set very much! The other musicians on stage with her seemed really great too--Peter did most of the backup vocals and he has a great voice as well. I love it when singers are on-the-money in-tune. ;) OK, I think that's all for Tracy Bonham and company. =)
Here's what I remember from each song... I don't remember the order except the very first and very last ones, but no matter. There's probably stuff in here that won't make sense unless you read some of the miscellaneous section, but um, yeah.
"Time to Start"-- The classic rock concert movements... The whole audience did #1 and #2, but nobody dared do #3, apparently... Matt and I both made to get up and do it, but looking back we saw no one else jumping, and weren't sure if we should. *lol* but don't worry, that comes back later. The drums in the front (3 per blue man, for 2 blue men) ended up to be super paint drums, like there were on the Area 2 tour. On Movement #4 (The Behind the Head Leg Stretch), Kalen was helped by another blue man to perform the movement, only to fall over completely... he does it once again later.
"Drumbone"-- Ah, a classic. This sketch was a little different from the show version. Aside from playing the two separte parts of the drumbone, there were a number of "false starts" where the blue men were ready to rock out, but the band didn't kick in. I forget the exact sequence, but it was pretty amusing. No vortexes, but just as awesome as ever. I daresay it will never get old.
"Up to the Roof"-- "Rock Concert Movement #__: Bringing out a guest vocalist." The bigscreen showed a blue man going backstage to fetch the vocalist... Tracy Bonham was in her dressing room eating pizza, and was reluctant to leave... but eventually the blue man got her going. She then took the stage (at the front, with a music stand, after receiving a few unspoken instructions from her escort) and belted out the song. One of the best songs in the entire show, I believe. She's a powerhouse!
"Singalong"-- Peter Moore was brought to the music stand and proceeded to lead this song. Kalen played around with the airpole (like in Area 2) while remnants of the music video showed in the background. Eventually, the screen showed the lyrics and the audience was invited to sing along, which it did... sort of... hehe. Kalen's airpole "dance" was both amusing and impressive.
"Piano Smasher" "Rock Concert Movement #__: Acknowledging the people in the cheap seats." Two of the blue men headed to the sections farthest back on the floor (the balconies could not be reached), one on each side. They each saluted their section, and the crowd saluted back and cheered. The blue men took turns doing this a few times, making it into a sort of contest... then went to the rest of the back of the venue... Finally each blue man made his way back to the stage with an audience member. Kalen had picked a college-age-looking guy, and tried to teach him the pelvis dance thing and other movements... Matthew picked a young boy, who was so excited to be on stage that he jumped around and danced, so enthusiastically that his blue man escort started copying him. It was really rather funny.
"Your Attention"-- This one featured the faint voices vying for your attention as well as scrolling text on the screen... There were three lines rapidly moving so you really could only read one at a time. (Perfect, but really frustrating!) Also, the "please yell if you are paying attention" thing worked well. Except, the crowd reacted slower than the yell on the CD (which is in time), so it sounded a bit odd too me. Still cool though. Peter Moore kicked ass on his zither solo (theme from synaesthetic). Red question marks? Maybe?
"Persona"-- Peter sang this one from his place in the back with the band. The back screen showed various videos... the guy with the flametorch-mask on, taking it off and revealing another mask, etc. etc... I don't remember if it was in this song or not, but at one point there was a clip of the Everymantis biting off the everyman's head. I was really amused by that. Does that make me morbid? At one point the guy's chest spewed orange paint... that was really odd, but interesting. Two of the blue men did the basic tribal drum beat up front, while Kalen played the rythms on the PVC.
"The Complex"-- This one really rocked out... More videos, including a guy running through a hallway full of closed doors (I think...). Unfortunately I don't remember much about this except the way it sounded. It was really powerful/deep live.
"Shadows Part II"-- Tracy Bonham stood beside Peter in the back and sang this one. The video showed (surprise surprise) everymen (am I allowed to make that plural?) walking around with their shadows... Um, memory block on this one, too.
"The Current"-- At the end of "Shadows Part II," the everyman climbed down a manhole... Two band members in wiremen suits appeared on either side on the stage (towards the back), one with a drum and anvil, the other with an airpole. They did the intro beat (complete with extra dance moves between hits)... By the end of the song multiple wiremen were rocking out. At certain points in the music, the stage lit up and you could see the band playing. It also revealed that the wiremen played the tubes were actually on boards in front of the blue men, which was a little odd to see. Just for the record, I think Peter Moore did an AWESOME job with this live. Compared to Gavin's live version on Leno, this was a huge improvement. I really, really enjoyed this song--it was one of the best of the night.
"White Rabbit"-- More trippy effects. While Tracy sang her own interesting version of the song (a little different from both the original and Esthero's version on the CD), neon jellyfish and such were lowered and risen from the ceiling. The jellyfish in their contracted state looked kinda like mushrooms... hmmm... ;) More of the band rocking out. More more more! hehe. This was Matt's favorite song and effects, and was definitely one of the best. There was a dramatic silent pause somewhere in the middle of this, which was a neat addition.
"I Feel Love"-- "Rock Concert Movement #__: Bringing out Venus Hum." Annette came out in her crazy blinking dress (horizontally striped, it lights up in bright happy colors, etc.), and the other two, um, Venus Hummers, did their labtop rock thing around Peter and Tracy's area. Unfortunately the tubulum wasn't working for the first quarter of the song, so the blue men had to improvise, by dancing around and using other drums (and testing the tubulum here and there)... eventually it kicked in and the song went as we know it. The screen showed a duplicate of what was going on with Annette's dress... and two of the bluemen made their way to the paint drums... I think this is the song during which I was completely overwhelmed visually. It was really, really crazy. "Whoa." Haha. Annette sounded great, but I was too conked out at one point to know what was going on. fuzzy.
"Baba O'Riley" (aka "Teenage Wasteland")-- It started with two Blue Men on backpack tubulums, doing a fabulous impression of the intro in the original song. Eventually the piano smasher came in with the guitar riff--who knew it was tuned to this song? Tracy Bonham provided the vocals beautifully. I really enjoyed this version of the song, more than the original even. At the end, where in the original the singer yells "you're all wasted!", the phrase was instead shown on the screen and the rock-concert-movement-voice spoke the words. At that point confetti and streamers shot from the backpack tubulums. Haha, clever... Here's a picture of Matthew playing the backpack PVC during this song:
"What is Rock"-- The Blue Men now directed us (with their glowing sticks) to stand up, so this time around Rock Concert Movement #3 was easily attainable. But since the leg room at Oakdale isn't all that great, it was still a bit difficult to jump around like a crazy maniac. As fun as this song was, it was almost sad because I knew it was all coming to a close. *sigh*
Finally, the words "Thank/ you/ good/ bye" flashed on the screen and all was abruptly over. Goshdang, that was a great show! I know I have the song order all screwed up, but ah well. I think I covered everything I remember, anyways...
the show: miscellaneous
Here's where I rattle off random things that happened during the show, that either didn't happen during a song... or happened during a song but I don't remember which. Ramble ramble ramble...
In watching the Blue Men, I recognized Kalen and Eric somewhat easily, because I'd seen each of them twice before. I knew I had seen the third Blue Man (in person) before, but it took me a while to come to the guess that it was Matthew, who I'd seen in Vegas a few years earlier... [note: as a quick preview, I asked his name backstage and he was indeed Matthew; however, he said he was from NYC, so I didn't realize he was really the Matthew I "knew" until a few days later, when I read an article about the tour.]
The Left LED sign-- Two different LED signs, on either side of the stage, started scrolling halfway through the intermission between Venus Hum and BMG. From where I was sitting, I could only see the sign on the left... It said various humorous phrases, different from the ones at the 4 venues. I don't remember most of them, but maybe after a second sighting I will. But eventually the sign started talking as if it were a person... telling us how the words on the left rule and the words on the right suck, and making us promise not to read the candy-ass words on the right. The sign said it even has its own website (which is pretty funny because it actually does--wordsontheleft.com)... It made us promise not to read the words on the right even after the sign on the left was done. We promised. After being blank for a few minutes, the left sign continued, accusing its readers of reading the sign on the right. Of course, I hadn't, because I really couldn't SEE the sign on the right... But I still felt guilty for trying, haha. It's kinda funny how the sign had a personality like that. Maybe even a little creepy.
The Pelvis Dance-- At the beginning of the show, "the voice" (the one that says "Rock concert movement #..." on the CD) told us that one of the first steps to rock and roll is pelvic movement. Upon being told to "loosen" the pelvis, one blue man (Matthew) completely dropped one hip in perfect blue man fashion. The three blue men proceeded to move their hips in a 4-beat square pattern (frontleft, frontright, backright, backleft, and so on... or maybe the other direction). Ok, maybe I shouldn't try to explain it, it's just too hilarious. They did this head motion thing too... It was a most memorable moment.
The Blue Men checked out the audience-- a couple times, the blue men took their big spotlight and camera and looked through the audience (like in the venue shows)... They brought a guy who was front and center onstage and did the throatcam thing. mmmmm mmmm mm. I'm wondering if the guy was a plant because he looked an awful lot like a guy in the program. haha.
Cellphones-- At the beginning of the show, the LED sign told us that cellphones going off wouldn't matter because the show would rock so hard you wouldn't hear a wussy cellphone. Between songs, we heard a loud cellphone ring. The blue men looked perturbed and stood looking at each other, until finally Kalen reached into his pocket and opened his cellphone (the ring stopped). He stepped away from the other two, as if having a private conversation. Then another classic cellphone ring (verizon?), and Matthew answered his phone and did the same step-away. A moment later, a lot of clucking and other chicken noises were heard (I didn't realize what the heck it was right away)... Both Matthew and Kalen looked quizically at Eric (who was in the middle), and after a long pause Eric answered his cell, while Kalen and Matthew still stared at him. I think the whole blue man expression can't be explained, but I bet you fans can picture it. Then all of the band members started answering their phones...
Traffic Control-- In a case on the stand that Tracy and Peter used, there were a few glowing sticks (like those used by traffic controllers at airports). One Blue Man, Eric, started playing around with them, and directed the band to go this way and that. Then he used the sticks to get the audience to stand up, and made motions signalling us to all move to the left (like the guitarists), but Kalen quickly jumped in and took the sticks, directing us to sit. He had that look that was like, "ok, let's not let things get out of hand..." Then he moved the band back in place and put the sticks away. But he forgot the guitarists, so the first blue man corrected that too.
An Audience Member Introduced the Band-- At the end of the show, the blue men brought a woman up on stage. She read from papers on the stand (the blue men turned her pages) and introduced the band members one by one. Most of them did a short solo thing to help point out which one he was (Peter waved). Then the woman continued to read, and said something like "We've been to a lot of places, but insert city here is definitely the best." That got a laugh, and it seemed intentional, which of course made it funnier. The woman chuckled a bit when she read it, so at first I thought it was her mistake... but she didn't pause or anything so I figured she was supposed to do that.
Kalen noticed the silly fans-- While Kalen was playing the backpack PVC at the end of the show, he definitely looked at Matt and I for more than a few seconds. It's neat how the blue men can look around and such, not really paying attention to what their doing, yet still nail all the parts every time. Anyways, this was confirmed later when he mentioned seeing us (after he realized who we were)... I think...
I know I forgot a lot of other things that happened, but I figure that's good, because I'll be surprised again the next time I go! Haha... that's what's great about a bad memory... You learn new things, meet new people, and go new places every day! ;)
backstage tell-all
After the show, we hung out in the area Puck had told us to. Not too much later he came around and brought all 15 of us backstage (as the strict Oakdale security people watched carefully). We were taken to a good-sized room that had chairs and tables and some food, and it was pretty nice-looking. We stood around a bit, exchanging a few words with Puck. He said he was going to try to make it to a few more shows this leg, and when/if he's there, he would try his best to look around for the MB fans (so he suggested people keep wearing crepe paper and BMG shirts to make themselves stand out as fans). His wife, who was expecting, was there as well... I didn't actually see her myself, but Matt did. Anyways, Matt mentioned that he went to the Hammerstein show (first leg), and also pointed out Puck's backstage pass/ID, which was a photo of him giving a really goofy thumbs-up pose...
A few minutes later, one of the blue men came out. There was a little hush, as Matt's group was somewhat awed by him (most of them hadn't been to BMG more than once or twice, if at all). He started shaking everyone's hands and receiving compliments, and I asked him his name--Matthew. I asked if he was from Vegas (since he looked so familiar and I thought I might have seen him perform), but he said he's from NYC. I must have seen pictures of him somewhere, or maybe he was on TV... Anyways. He was a great blue man! He did little quirky things (like dancing around) at times where you'd only catch it if you happened to be watching him in the whole scheme of things (which at times is utterly overwhelming). Great eyes, too. ;) [note: Soon after this day, I read an article about the tour show and found out that Matthew WAS the Matthew I remembered (Banks)... hmph! hehe.] Another Blue Man was Eric Gebow, who was also wonderful and definitely rocked out. I've seen him in Vegas before, so I recognized him... But I didn't get to talk to him because his family was there and he was hanging out with them in the hall. I don't know if he ended up meandering into the room where we were at any point. I hope his family had a great time! They sure have someone to be very proud of. =) At that point, Matthew had mingled deeper into the crowd.
Standing at the doorway, I looked around and saw Kalen (from Boston, hell yeah!) talking to a small group of people not far away. I didn't want to interrupt though, so I was just standing and waiting, when all of a sudden a man comes up to me and says "are you eternallyblue?" and in that split second I got a definite feeling of knowing this guy... "yes" "Hi! I'm Phil!" by the time he said that I'd figured it out, but you know. ;) He said hi to Matt, too, and Gee, and then chatted with us for a while. He asked if we thought the part of the show were someone reads "We've been to a lot of places, but insert city here is definitely the best" (and the person actually read "insert city here") was offensive at all. We didn't, of course, it just continued the whole mocking-the-rock-concert theme. Besides, humor had been present through the whole show, so it wasn't like it came out of nowhere! So yes, we told him it was just fine and he seemed glad. Alice took a picture of the four of us (Matt, Phil, me, and Gee), since he'd been able to sneak his camera in... a feat I didn't even attempt, hehe.
Someone asked where the other two (ie Chris and Matt) were, and he said that Matt was out of town, and that Chris really wanted to come but couldn't--and told Phil to say hi and apologize for him. But no apologies needed--we were getting awesome treatment as it was, and of course his life should come first... and there's always a next time! heh heh heh. Phil started talking to Puck about the show and what they could do to improve it (unfortunately none of the actual words stuck in my head... I bet I was too awed by meeting Phil Stanton to think too much). Tracy Bonham wandered into the room, as did her band and a couple from the Blue Man Band. Everyone seemed to be talking to someone...
Eventually we made our way over to Kalen, who'd just finished a conversation. Matt walked up and said "Hey, Kalen!" and Kalen shook his hand and said hi, then did a double take and quietly asked, "did you just say my name?" We laughed, and I told him that he did the same exact thing the last time I said hi to him (in Boston). That seeemed to make him remember us and he was like, "ohhh yeah! you guys ushered in Boston right?" So we talked to Kalen for a while and told him how great he was. He's very dynamic and probably had the most drawing stare of all three of them. But we knew that already, being Boston fans. =P He seemed to appreciate being known and loved by his own little fan group (especially Matt, who claims Kalen as his favorite). Matt asked for a signature, and got his program kissed... but then Matt clarified that he would like a "real" written signature as well, which got a smile out of Kalen. I then asked for the same, and instead of first kissing the program, he smacked himself in the side of his face with it, which was really random and thus, blue man-like and funny. (You can actually see his profile in the paint on my program--it's quite amusing.) There was this little line going, waiting for Kalen's signature(s). One of Matt's friends, Jill, was extremely cute and shy about going up to him... and then her sister went right up and asked Kalen to sign her shirt (which wasn't BMG, but the one she wore to the show, so it had significance). Tickled, Kalen didn't just sign his name normally--he wrote all over her back, hehe. Matt asked him how he was enjoying the tour, and he said he's having the time of his life, and that "it's a dream come true," being on the tour bus and feeling like a rock star... and it looks like he's having a great time up there on stage, along with the rest of them! So much energy and such those guys put in(out?), it's awesome. Anyways, it seems like our Kalen is doing just fine! Alice took another picture of us, this time with Kalen...
By the way, this guy has perfect white teeth. Somewhat out of character, he had this little smile with his teeth showing, and he was just adorable. Bryce is still my favorite, but Kalen's definitely up there! ;) So then he had to go to change and such (I don't blame him, he was positively dripping... mmmmm heheheh). I asked for a hug before he left--"just in case you never come back to Boston and I never see you again *sniff*"--and he obliged, saying he'd definitely be back (woooooooooooo Boston! lol). End of Blue Man aura (sniff, sniff).
After that, I ended up getting Tracy Bonham's signature, and though I didn't really talk to her at all, she seemed really nice. She's really short too, amazing that such a voice can come out of that body. hehehe... She hung around in the room for a long while, signing everyone's EPs and such. Next, we talked to her pianist/vocalist/spoon-soloist, Peter. Before signing our programs, he looked through one of them in its entirety, as he hadn't seen it before. Halfway through he said "and these guys are probably thinking, 'I just wanted a damn signature, not for this guy to look through the whole book'" but of course we didn't mind. He was really neat to talk to. When I got his signature, I noticed his little piano graphic next to it and was really amused. I mentioned that I play piano too, and that it was really cool to watch him. I told him how I "kinda want to be a musician" (well, I really do want to be a musician, but I was shy) but realize I don't have a soloist voice or anything... but that it would be really cool to be "that guy" (meaning him). It was inspiring! It'd be awesome to tour with someone and be able to perform like that. I complimented his spoon solo and he laughed about it, saying that if he can't hear a keyboard part in a song, he'll automatically think of what else he can do, because he plays a bunch of other instruments including guitar. He didn't even know how the spoon solo thing came to be, and was about to ask Tracy about it, but she was in the middle of a conversation. Anyways, Peter was really nice and talkative, seemed like a very friendly, down-to-earth guy (just like everyone else in that room! It was amazing how cool they were). At some point during this conversation, Phil came over to say goodbye to Matt (who was talking to Peter Moore) and me, thanking us for coming and being fans and such. And by the way BMP, it's really nice for you to thank us but seriously, it's ridiculously easy for one to want to be a fan and go to every possible show! =D hehehe. I thought it was really sweet of Phil to make a point to say goodbye to us. =)
So the last one we talked to was Peter Moore (singer, keyboardist, Chapman Stick player...). I told him his performance of "The Current" was much better than Gavin's on the Tonight Show, and he said that Gavin was having some problems with his voice that day and such... and I said how it was really good on the CD, but that performance just didn't do it for me--and his did; he was great. Tons of emotion and power. =) I also brought up his synaesthetic-esque solo in "Your Attention Please" on Chapman Stick, and he mentioned how he wished the visual were toned down just a bit in places (unless this was a comment to something else, I think he said it partly because people don't usually notice that he's playing the melody there). I told him how it was a visual overload in "I Feel Love" and I was just like, "whoa." Hehe. (Great story, eh?) He also mentioned at one point in the conversation that he noticed that we were enthusiastic during the show (when we said where we'd been sitting), and that from onstage they can see pockets of people who are really into it. Anyways, by that time, the Oakdale people were apparently telling Puck to make us leave (awwwwwwwww), so we had to head out. But it was a pretty long time in there talking to people! I ended up talking to Matthew, Phil, Kalen, Peter, Puck, Peter Moore, and Tracy Bonham (and got signatures from all but Matthew). It was so nice for them all to stick around and chat with us! So THANK YOU BMP AND PERFORMERS! And thanks very much to Phil for taking the time to stop by and say hi. =) It was a great time from all perspectives.
Here are some pictures of my Complex tour book, where my collection of signatures, including Kalen's face-print, found their home. If you can't make out a signature, hold your mouse over the picture to find whose it is.
hang in there, I'm almost done...
Walking out to our cars, I made sure to walk reeeeeal slow, so I could spend more time with Gee (and Alice). It was so incredibly nice to meet him. After seeing each other on the board here, we'd been chatting ever since (about 3 years I think!) but had never met. He's a big sweetie in person. Normally when you meet someone you've talked to but not in "real-life," it's a little awkward, but I felt totally comfortable around Gee. He's just like he is online! Except maybe a bit more shy. Anyways, meeting Gee was just as great as meeting all the BMG/BMP people there. =) And Alice seemed really nice and sweet as well! They make a cute couple. Hopefully we'll meet again, eh?
Finally, we had to say our goodbyes, so I gave Gee another hug and we were off. Of course, the babbling and giddiness didn't really stop until hours later, but as far as we're concerned here, the fabulous night was over. ;) hehe.
I know I babble a lot and this whole review thingy is huge and has silly stupid details... but if you guys are rolling your eyes, think of it as a diary for me to look back on and recall memories long gone. =p hehe. Thanks for reading!